Treatment of improved materials containing collagen



Patented Jan, 11, 1938 PATENT ()FFIQE TREATMENT OF IMPROVED MATERIALS CONTAINING COLLAGEN Wilfred Graham Dewsbury and Arnold Davies, London, England No Drawing. Application August 24, 1934, Se-

rial No. 741,334. In Great Britain September 2 Claims.

This invention relates to the manufacture of improved materials containing collagen. Reference is made to the related subject matter disclosed and claimed in our copending application Serial No. 750,590, filed October 29, 1934, for improvement in Paints, lithographic varnishes, printing inks, and the like and process of making same, now United States Patent No. 2,014,760, of September 17, 1935, and copending application Serial No. 4,718, filed February 2, 1935, for Compositions containing collagen products and applications thereon.

In accordance with the present invention, when ordinary glue or gelatine of commerce, whether of animal or marine origin is heated in such nonaqueous organic liquids as mineral, or animal, or vegetable oils having a boiling point of not lower than C. for a suflicient period of time at a temperature of approximately 130 C., a mass of tangled fibres separates from the glue or gelatine leaving a phase of the glue or gelatine to be dispersed in the organic liquid. The fibres can be freely removed.

With the knowledge at present available we assume that in the above process a two-phase unit is produced. In all probability there is a hydrophobic phase of the glue which is dispersed in the vehicle.

In particular when a lubricating oil is treated by the above process with the dispersion of an adequate proportion of glue or gelatine the lubricating capacity of the oil is definitely improved. In recent years the term oiliness has come into use in defining the characteristics of lubricating oil to represent characteristics of lubricating liquids which result in the lowering of the friction between surfaces moving relatively to one another and which cannot be accounted for on the basis of viscosity. Various methods of measuring this physical difference of lubrication are used one of which is the application of the Deeley testing machine. The results of tests on an original 1ubricating oil and the oil after treatment by the present process gave values respectively for the oiliness of 9.06 and 11.1 showing the improvement which had taken place.

It is generally found in industrial processes of grinding that there is always a tendency for the powder to unite or cake up below 200 mesh. By the dispersion of five per cent of glue into an oil vehicle which has been prepared by the present process however it is possible to obtain defiocculation of the particles during attrition and subsequently. This applies to the sub-division and suspension of mineral bodies such as graphite and pigments such as zinc oxide, lithopone and white lead and also amorphous substances such as lamp black and carbon blacks obtained from petroleum hydrocarbons. As oils suitable for this purpose various polymerized oils and petroleum hydrocarbons may be mentioned. A graphited lubricating oil produced in this manner exhibits improved properties both as regards lubrication and stability. It is of course to be understood that the percentage of glue or gelatine dispersed varies with various materials.

It has hitherto been found difficult to incorporate satisfactorily metallic powders such as finely divided bronze and aluminium in the usual varnishes which are the common base for suspending pigments for the production of inks to be used in lithographic and letter press printing. Such varnishes are mainly comprised of polymerized linseed oil. According to a further feai0 ture of the present invention a dispersion of what we believe to be the hydrophobic phase of glue in the oil base gives a producthaving an improved wetting out eifect on the metallic powders thus enabling them to be incorporated adequately with the said base. Without giving any definite limit as to the amount of glue required for this purpose it may be stated that a dispersion of five per cent weight/volume of glue in such oils or varnishes appears to be adequate.

The importance of securing a high dielectric strength in such materials as are commonly used in the electrical industry is well known. For instance it is of the utmost importance that transformer oils should maintain a high standard of dielectric efficiency.

A normal specification of a transformer oil requires a breakdown voltage using a 4 mm. gap with continuous steady increase of voltage to breakdown of below 35 kilovolts. It has been found that a dispersion of 2 of glue in a transformer oil of such a specification increases the figure for the di-electric strength to above 45 kilovolts.

In various arts the number of drops in a measured quantity of liquid is important. It has been found by the well known Donnan pipette method of measurement that it is possible to increase th number of drops in such liquids as liquid paraffin and Diesel oil by a dispersion of glue according to the present process.

As an example using a Donnan pipette immersedin a 600 cc. beaker containing water 8 cms. below hydrostatic level at a temperature of 20 C.

under constant orifice and constant head the following readings were obtained:

Drops Liquid paraffin B. P. untreated Liquid parafiin B. P. treated by the present process and containing 2 /g% glue 62 Diesel oil of commerce, untreated 32 Diesel oil treated by the present process and containing 5% glue Blackstone type engine oil untreated 40 Blackstone type engine oil treated by the present process and containing 2%% glue 48 Since the interfacial tension is inversely proportional to the drop number an increase in the latter indicates a decrease in the said tension.

The collagen oil dispersion obtained by the above process may be advantageously passed through a colloid mill, preferably a colloid mill known as the Hurrell mill, in accordance with British specification No. 214,308/24.

What I claim is:

1. Process for the manufacture of improved materials containing collagen derived material comprising heating to a temperature of about C. a hydrocarbon oil having a boiling point of not lower than 130 C. with a substance selected from the group consisting of glue and gelatin until a fibrous product is formed from said collagen containing material, and separating the oil from the fibrous product.

2. A liquid product corresponding with that resulting from the process of claim 1 and comprising a hydrocarbon oil having aboiling point of not lower than 130 C. and the portion soluble in oil at 130 C. of a material of the group consisting of glue and gelatin from which material the fibrous, oil insoluble portion has been removed.

WILFRED GRAHAM DEWSBU'RY. ARNOLD DAVIES. 

